The first night of Leonore, Beethoven's early 19th-century opera, must rate as one of the greatest theatrical flops of all time. A week before, Napoleon's troops had occupied Vienna, and the aristocracy, normally Beethoven's greatest fans, had left the city. At the premiere, instead of a cultured German-speaking audience, the Theater an der Wien was filled with French soldiers, hoping for an operetta rather than a complex moral singspiel.
To add to the woes of the 35-year-old composer, the critics had somehow survived the invasion. They hated the opera. "The music falls below the expectations to which connoisseurs and music lovers consider themselves entitled," wrote one. After just three performances, Leonore closed.
Despite being unhappy about tampering with what he considered one of his greatest achievements, Beethoven grudgingly agreed to revise Leonore the following year. It flopped again. Disillusioned, he put the score away and moved on to other projects. It was eight years before he returned to it, cutting away swathes of music, writing fresh material and giving the work a different name: Fidelio. This "new" opera was immediately acclaimed as a masterpiece, and has held a hallowed position in the opera repertoire ever since.
Leonore, meanwhile, has been pretty much forgotten, and is rarely staged. "I think it's a piece that has enormous strength and validity in its own right," says Anthony Freud, the general director of Welsh National Opera. "It's significantly different to Fidelio, structurally, atmospherically and musically. It's something that's incredibly powerful and emotionally involving."
To fully appreciate Leonore, you have to remember the political climate in which it was written. Across mainland Europe, a new order had come into force, following the French Revolution. According to Yves Abel, its conductor in the Welsh National Opera production, which is at the Grand Opera House in Belfast on Friday, the overture perfectly illustrates the mood Beethoven was trying to convey.
"It's an incredible piece of music drama. OK, it rambles a bit, but underneath it all you get this repetitive feeling of the tensions of the time. In France, heads were rolling all over the place; meanwhile, Napoleon was rolling across Europe. There was a lot going on, and we reflect that in the way we perform the piece."
At the heart of Leonore's plot are a set of issues that mattered deeply to Beethoven; the same issues that spurred on the Paris revolutionaries: libertΘ, egalitΘ, fraternitΘ.
Florestan, a political prisoner, is held illegally by the dishonest Pizarro. Determined to rescue him, his wife, Leonore, disguises herself as a man and gets a job as a prison warder. When Pizarro hears that the minister, Fernando, is to visit the jail, he realises his corrupt practices will be exposed, and orders that Florestan be killed. Leonore is forced to dig her husband's grave. In the nick of time, Fernando learns the truth, frees Florestan and imprisons Pizarro.
"A lot of serious musicians think that Leonore is the better piece, in that it's more true to Beethoven's own philosophical aspirations," says Abel. "The French Revolution inflamed Beethoven's imagination. The thought that you could be from a poor family in Bonn and come to Vienna and do whatever you wanted - it excited him. You have to bring all that energy to the stage. Leonore has to be treated in a youthful, passionate, explosively exciting way."
The stark seriousness of the plot of Leonore is far from the frothy entertainment offered by other operas of the time. But Beethoven was well aware that his audience hadn't dressed up for a glamorous night out just to hear a political message, and he made sure they left the theatre satisfied.
As well as the politicking, there are several romantic strands. Leonore's passion for Florestan is clear: if he is killed, she wants to die as well. But as all the other characters think Leonore is a man, it's no surprise that Marzelline, the glamorous daughter of the head jailer, falls in love with him/her - and persuades her father that they should be allowed to marry. When Leonore's gender is revealed at the end of the opera, she tiptoes off stage in shock.
"Someone said 'She doesn't look comfortable as a man', which I suppose means I'm getting it right," says Franzita Whelan, the Irish soprano who is singing the title role. "I'm not meant to look comfortable: I'm supposed to be terribly uncomfortable at having to disguise myself."
Leonore is one of the most challenging roles in the opera repertory. "It demands an enormous amount, vocally and physically, in terms of stamina, and that's an exciting challenge," says Whelan. After being on stage for nearly three hours, she still has to sing a final duet that runs for some 15 pages and requires her to hit two high Cs. "There aren't that many sopranos who sing Leonore," she says. "I thought, if I can do this, I can sing anything."
Whelan considers it a blessing that she has never performed in Fidelio. "It must be a struggle at times if you have done the pair," she says. "Often, the changes are very subtle: the odd note, a bar here and there. It can really throw the singer." A few years ago, the Welsh National Opera Chorus sang the famous prisoners' chorus in Paris, alternating night by night between the two versions. The singers were kept on their toes; the different accounts of the famous tune may sound similar to the audience, but Beethoven made dozens of tiny changes between the two operas.
Abel is also new to Beethoven opera. "That's a great advantage, because I haven't come with the preconceived notion that Fidelio is the greater piece. I think they're really two very different pieces that should be evaluated on their own." "I believe in it," says Freud. "I think it's a distinct and extraordinary masterpiece that deserves to be seen and heard and enjoyed." He describes watching musicians, singers and, eventually, audiences discovering Fidelio's younger sibling for themselves, and being won over by it. One of our other conductors came to the dress rehearsal and was so impressed he decided to start a Leonore supporters' club. It does arouse passionate enthusiasm - it's addictive, it's a remarkable work."
Welsh National Opera's production of Leonore is at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, (048-90241919) on Friday.
